Separator for ore, coal, &amp;c.



No. 694,420.` Patented Mar. 4, |902;4

. JQ N.. RICE.

sEPAnATon Fon ons, co'AL, au.

(Application led Hay 22, 1901.)

um man.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I..

.-Patented Mar. 4; |902.v

la'i one, GOAL, ac.

ed M9122, 1901. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. l

J. N. RICE. f SEPABATo'n Fo (Application 1 (No Mofiel.)

WLe ases;

a UNITED STATES y PATENT `f OFFICE.

J AMES N. RICE, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO ANTHRACITESEPARATOR COMPANY, OF HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OFPENNSYLVANIA.

SEPARATOR FOR ORE, COAL, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 694,420, dated-March 4,1902.

Application nea May 22, 1901.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES N. RICE, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and 5 State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSeparators for Coal, Ore, die., of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part to thereof.

The invention lrelates to that class of vspiral Separatore which act bycentrifugal force and frictional resistance to separate substances'd'iering in nature-as, for instance, coal and t5 slate. In suchapparatus the separation is effected during the passage of the mixedsubstances around a spiral or series of spirals or threads usuallyconstructed around a central support. 1

The objects of the presen'timprovements are to provide means forchanging the pitch or angle of the spiral or the sections thereof, land'thus divert or aid in diverting more read- 25 'greatest frictionalresistance, so that they pass inwardly, and to enable an attendant to'change thev pitch and iare of the jackets, so that the material movingon thel spiral threads i will have either an inclination to thel cengter 'or to the circumference, according to the" change made in thepitch.

The invention consists of a centrifugal separator for coal, ore, dac.,having suitably-supported spirals in combination with lever con- 35nection's adapted to act on the same and change the pitch or anglethereof; also, of lever connections in combination with the spirals andmeans for operating the levers at will, whereby the spirals may be sochanged 4o in angle and pitch that the substances to be separated may beretarded or'accelerated in speed by more or less friction and gravity,as

"hereinafter more fully described, and pointed ont in the claims.Y Y Y.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical view of the principal parts of aseparator embodying the improvements. This figure shows the 'its lmentsconnected therewith. ily than heretofore the substances havingy seraiN6. 61,426. (No model.)

spirals as surrounding a central support in the form of a post, which inpractice is properly secured at top and bottom to a base, 5o iloor,orbeam orby othermeans. (Not shown.)

In this gure three feed-chutes are shown for three spirals or threads,and usually the fourth thread is made to differ in diameter, so that thecoal will pass over the smaller and 5 5 be caught on the larger one;Fig. 2 is a hori- Zontal section showing 011e circle of one of thespirals or threads as composed of eight segments or sectionsoverlappingin the course of the descent, the lower edge of each seg- 6oment resting loosely o-n the upper edge of the one next below, which ismade fast, and this igure'shows a connection for each segment with therods connecting with the lever at the top, as shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 isa ver- 65 tical section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2,

showing on a'somewhat-exaggerated scale the manner in which the leverlifts the connecting-rods and lower edge of the several seg- 7 In thedrawings, A represents the support for the spirals, which may be a post,as shown,

or some other structure. The separator or apparatus may be constructedwith cany desired number of spirals or threads having the 75 through thesizer. In passing from the spirals or threads the separated substancesare di;

Vrected by outlet guides or chutes, as CZ CIZ/d,

to whatever means there may be for receiving or conducting them awayfrom theapparatus. 9o The apparatus as thus described belongs to theclass of separators shown in the patents of Frank Pardee, dated July 25,1899, and numbered 629,590, 629,591, 629,592, 629,599,

and (529,594, the present invention being an improvement upon the same.

As shown, a lever-arm IJ is made fast to a clamp c at the upper end ofthe support A. The operating-lever E may be moved up or down andsecured, as by pins, in a post or hanger F. This lever is fulcrumed at eto the arm b and pivoted at f to the upper end of the arm g, which takesthe weight at h from the connecting-rods 1l i i, of which there may beany desired number, eight being shown in Fig. 2. The connecting-rod g,through which the operating-lever E acts' to lift the connecting-rods'L' e' a', which may be made fast to a cross-bar in a ring or hoop largeenough to permit the upper ends of all connecting-rods to be securedthereto, or the arm g may be fastened to a bracket, which in turn isfastened to the connecting-rods, or the arm g may be secured to a spiderover the central support and extending in different directions to theseveral connecting-rods.

As the form of the device by which connection is made between theoperating-lever and the weight to be lifted or moved is immaterial, nostress is laid on the use of any special form; but the one shown anddesignated j in Fig. l may be regarded as a crossbar for a ring or hoop,to which eight connecting-rods are made fast, one for each of the eightsegments of the spiral, as shown by Fig. 2.

In Fig. 2 the smaller spiral is shown as being composed of eightsegments 7c 7c, and each of these segments is secured at its upperradial edge to a rod or bolt Z, entering the central support A. Thespiral passes around the central support, and the rods which connect itto the post not only enter from a dierent point, but also at a differentheight. The upper radial edges of the segments being made fast arepractically immovable; but the lower radial edge of each segment is madeto overlap the upper radial edge of the next lower segment`and restsloosely thereon, such edge being supported by the rod which enters thepost. This leaves each segment free to move or change its angle iflifted at its lower radial edge.

In the several figures of the drawings the lower radial edge of thesegments or sections forming one of the spirals is shown as being ypivotally secured to the connecting-rods it' by means of arms m, madefast to the segments and pivoted to the rods e' 7l, as shown at n. Thearms m may extend directly from the segments to the connecting-rods,some of them being so shown and others dotted in Fig. l; but the arms m,which extend from the segments to the connecting-rods, may have aconnection, as 0, with two or more segments on the same vertical but ondifferent horizontal planes. This arrangement avoids a multiplicity ofarms extending out to the connecting-rods and gives room for the coilsof a larger spiral between the connecting-rods and the small spirals.The connecting-rods may be carried up through a large outer ange; but inthat case there would be a possibility of unduly checking the speed andchanging the course of the substances thereon. In adapting theimprovements, therefore, to a separator having spirals or threads ofdifferent diameters the connecting-rods are preferably placed outside ofthe largest flange, the brackets a a in Fig. 1 indieating the coursethat the ange would take and the means for securing it.

The operation is as follows: When the coal and sla-te are passing intothe spirals through the feed-chutes shown, an attendant taking hold ofthe operating-lever E and bearing down upon the same can tilt or liftthe lower radial edge of the segments with which connection is made atthe outer corner. This movement is shown in an exaggerated form in Fig.3. The pivotal connections of the arms m with the connecting-rod e' iallows an adjustment of the rods to the changed position or contracteddiameter of the spiral or threads when the lower radial edges of itssegments are raised orV lifted and the angle changed by a movement ofthe operatinglever. In practice the alteration in the angle and pitch ofthe jackets eected by the lever and various connections raising thelower edge of the jackets diverts the course of the slate from an outerto an inner circle or by lowering the lower edge of the jackets causesthe coal to leave the outer circumference more freely and drop to thelargest thread. The rapidity of the feed or a knocking by pieces of coalpassing at greater speed is liable at times to interfere with the slate;but with this lever arrangement and loose overlap of the segments of thespirals the action of the separator may be placed under the control ofthe attendant.

The arrangement of the connecting-rods and attachments leading from theoperatinglever to the spirals may be varied, and, if so desired,connections may be made for acting on the segments of all of thespirals, though differing in diameter, or only such segments may beacted on as shall be deemed necessary.

I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a separator for coal, d50., a suitablysupported spiral havingloose overlapping segments in combination with means for changing theangle of the segments by tilting or lifting the overlapping radial edgesthereof.

2. In a separator for coal, &c., a suitablysupported spiral havingoverlapping segments in combination with arms connecting with the radialoverlapping edges of such segments, and rods to which said arms are IOOIIO

pivotally secured, said rods being movable I tions adapted to act onsaid segments and and adapted by their movements to change means foroperating said connections at will, the angles of the segments withwhich they substantially as described. are connected.

5 3. In a separator for ore, coal, &c., a suit- Witnesses:

ably-supported spiral having overlapping H. C. REYNOLDS, segments incombination with lever Connee- T. H. BLATCH.

JAMES N. RICE.

